Ircon engineers attacked in Kashmir; guard killed

Srinagar, Apr 16 (UNI) A security guard of one of the engineers with Ircon, the construction arm of the Indian Railways, was killed when unidentified gunmen attacked them during an inspection of a track in Pulwama district of south Kashmir today, police said.

The Al-Mansoorian militant outfit has claimed the responsibility for the attack which came two days after the police claimed to have gunned down two Lashkar-e-Toiba militants responsible for the killing of Ircon engineers and about a dozen security personnel.

A person, identifying himself as Al-Mansoorian spokesman Amir Mir, telephoned the offices of the local media here to claim the responsibility for the killing.

''The cadres from our outfit carried out the attack and also snatched a riffle from the guard,'' he said.

Police said unidentified gunmen suddenly appeared near a railway track at Naina Bhatapora in Pulwama district when Ircon engineers were inspecting the construction site.

The assailants opened fire on the engineers from point blank.

The major brunt of the gunfire was borne by one of the personal security officers of the engineers.

While the guard, identified as constable Bishen Das of the Jammu and Kashmir Armed Police (6 battalion), was killed on the spot, the two engineers -- Hilal Ahmed and Kishen Kumar -- were safe.

They were later taken to a nearby security force camp. Soon after the attack, the gunmen escaped from the scene.

Senior officials of the Ircon, the Army, police and the CRPF rushed to the area for on-the-spot assessment.

Security forces later cordoned off the entire area and launched a massive manhunt to nab the attackers. Police have also registered a case in this regard.

On April 14, X X X Eds here picking up from Para one of DR 31 (INSURGENCY-KASHMIR-IRCON-ATTACKED TWO LAST SRINAGAR).

UNI